BA in Jurisprudence

The BA in Jurisprudence is our regular three year
undergraduate law degree, equivalent to what in some universities would be called
an LLB. It is also a 'qualifying law degree' for the purpose of practice as a
solicitor or barrister in England and Wales. It is one of the most highly
regarded undergraduate law degrees in the UK, and those who do well in it are
in high demand both in the legal professions and in other fields in which
professional analytical work is required.

In all universities, a law degree calls for hard work. You must become familiar
with a great deal of material across a wide range of legal topics. In Oxford, particular emphasis is placed on first-hand study of legal sources - the reading
of statutes and cases, sometimes very long statutes and cases, in their
original reported form. This means a lot of work in law libraries, of which Oxford has some of the best. As well as books you will increasingly work with online
materials. Law is constantly evolving and infinitely thought-provoking.

A common misconception is that studying law is mainly a matter of memorizing
data. It is true that there is a lot to remember but lawyers exist to use the
law, not just to know it, and the main way that lawyers use the law is by
making legal arguments. A central aspect of legal education in Oxford, as at other law schools, is learning to make a proper legal argument. This is a creative
activity and calls for originality and inspiration as well as information and
accuracy. The Oxford method of teaching by tutorials - weekly meetings between
a tutor and two or three students - gives you particularly intensive training
in the art of argument.

The programme is non-modular. The courses identified by the legal professions
as necessary for legal practice (the 'foundations of legal knowledge') are also
identified by Oxford as core academic law subjects, and all undergraduate law
students in Oxford are required to take them. All undergraduate law students
are also required to take a course in jurisprudence (theory of law). In your
final year you have the chance to choose from a selection of optional subjects.
There are public examinations in your first year and your final year, but not
your second year, although there is an essay in jurisprudence to be written over the summer vacation at the end of the second year. Your mark for this essay counts towards your degree result. The exam in jurisprudence at the end of your final year is correpondingly shorter.

• The current Law Faculty
lecture list, including this year's diet of lectures and seminars for BA
courses. Tutorials are not shown on this list because they are scheduled by
individual tutors in consultation with individual students.

• More
about 'qualifying law degrees' and the path to legal practice: practice at the Bar; practice as a Solicitor. Remember that, although it is a qualifying law degree, our BA is
a programme of academic study, not a vocational training. We do not assume that
our students will be legal practitioners and about a third of them will not be.